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Publication date: 29.03.2024
The Family Code of Ukraine establishes the obligation for mothers and fathers to maintain their children until they reach 18 years of age.
Parents must fulfill this duty regardless of whether they live in the same family with the father (mother) of the child or not.
If one of the parents avoids fulfilling the obligation to support the child, the current legislation establishes the appropriate procedure for collecting alimony in a compulsory manner. In addition, it is also possible to collect alimony for a child without a divorce according to the current legislation.
Yes, the parent with whom a minor or minor child lives has the right to collect alimony for the child by filing a lawsuit:
- a claim for the recovery of alimony;
- applications for the issuance of a court order for the collection of alimony.
If the parent with whom the child lives intends to apply to the court for the issuance of a court order for the collection of alimony, then in this case the court decision, namely the court order, will be easier and faster to obtain, but according to the current legislation, the court the order can be issued only for specific requirements, namely the collection of alimony, namely:
- for one child - in the amount of one quarter, for two children - in the amount of one third, for three or more children - in the amount of half of the earnings (income) of the payer of alimony;
- on the collection of alimony for a child in a fixed monetary amount in the amount of half of the subsistence minimum for a child of a certain age.
At the same time, both of these requirements should not be related to the paternity dispute and the involvement of other persons in the case.
In the case of filing a claim for alimony, the legal process will be somewhat longer, but here the plaintiff will be able to make other demands, and not be limited to the amount of alimony per child, as is established for the issuance of court orders.
According to the court's decision, the amount of alimony for the child (children) can be awarded to be paid as a part of the salary and other income of the payer of alimony, as well as by establishing a specific amount that must be paid every month. At the same time, Article 182 of the Family Code of Ukraine establishes the minimum amount of alimony per child. Yes, the minimum guaranteed amount of alimony per child cannot be less than half of the subsistence minimum for a child of a certain age, and the minimum recommended amount of alimony per child is one amount of the subsistence minimum for a child of a certain age, but it can be awarded by the court in that case , if the alimony payer has the appropriate income. According to the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget for 2024", the living wage for a child under 6 years old is 2,563 hryvnias, for a child from 6 to 18 years old - 3,196 hryvnias. Based on this, it is possible to draw a conclusion about the minimum amount of child support in 2024.
However, this does not mean that the payer, if he has income, will pay exactly the amount of alimony indicated above. Thus, the amount of alimony that must be paid by a payer who is awarded alimony as a part of his income is determined based on the actual earnings that the payer of alimony receives. At the same time, if alimony is paid, for example, for three children, the minimum amount of alimony per child cannot be less than half a percent of the subsistence minimum for a child of a certain age, regardless of the income of the alimony payer. If the alimony payer's earnings are insufficient, then the amount of unpaid alimony must be calculated as arrears and is subject to collection.
Current legislation also provides for cases where the alimony payer has no official income. In this case, in accordance with part 2 of Art. 195 of the Family Code of Ukraine, alimony arrears are determined based on the average salary of an employee for a given area.
A claim for the recovery of alimony for child support can be submitted to the court at the registered place of residence or location of the defendant or the plaintiff (by choice).
Cessation of the collection of alimony for child support is possible only after the child reaches 18 years of age, if there is no arrears for the payment of alimony at the time of coming of age, as well as at the request of the alimony collector himself.
In addition, to date, the current legislation regulating the activities of the executive service regarding the enforcement of court decisions provides quite a lot of levers of influence on the debtor who does not pay, or partially pays alimony for the maintenance of his children. Thus, in the case of debt, the debtor may be subject to such measures as: restricting him from driving vehicles (at the same time, information on the prohibition of a specific person to drive vehicles is entered in the relevant registers); restriction of the debtor from leaving Ukraine; imposing arrests on his open bank accounts; description and seizure of property belonging to them.
State bailiffs have a lot of opportunities in matters of unscrupulous alimony payers, so it is necessary to try to maintain contact with the state bailiff who enforces the decision on the collection of alimony through the appropriate specialist in the field of law in order to obtain a positive result.
